A Tiny Addiction
by CSIfreak89
Summary: A cute little ChaseCameron fic. What happens when Cameron replaces one addiction with another? Oneshot.


**A/N: what can I say? I've been writing my serious fic ("Tickle Me Pink"-check it out) for too long, I needed a little humor. I had a bit of fun writing it and I'm aware that it is pretty random, but don't let that discourage you from reading on, and hopefully reviewing. thanks.**

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**Cameron sat at the break room table reading over the files of a current patient, racking her brain for an explanation of all the symptoms she had. She was, without knowing it, snapping her gum loudly. She blew a bubble as she read over lab reports and popped it loudly, snapping it many times. 

Chase, who had noticed her new habit of cracking her gun, was getting annoyed. As cute as he thought she was, he absolutely hated it when she sat there and played with her gum. It drove him nuts.

"Cam," he said.

She looked up as she was about to pop a big bubble. "Huh?" she said through the bubble. Cameron finished the process of popping the bubble and snapping it.

"That," he said.

"What?"

"The gum! The popping! The snapping!" he said as if he were about to go mad.

"Oh, I guess I didn't realize. Sorry," she said and returned to her files, now opting to chew it quietly.

Cameron had tried smoking to take her mind off the little amount of drugs she had used when Kalvin had told her they could have been good for her. That habit quickly stopped when House threatened to fire her if she didn't stop taking breaks every hour. He was touchy about that even though he took longer, more frequent breaks then any of them. So she had resorted to chewing gum. Though it didn't look like that was going to last long.

"You're doing it again," Chase said several minutes later.

"Sorry," she said once again and continued going over the reports.

Chase finished, left the room and set off in the direction of the clinic. Meanwhile Cameron sat in the break room, still looking over the large file, now consciously cracking her gum since Chase had gone. She enjoyed the sound that echoed in her ears when she snapped a big bubble. _More soothing than cigarettes,_ she decided. All they had done was make her jittery.

* * *

Later that day they were all sitting around the table. _The_ table. The table they always sat at to make a differential diagnosis. Well, more like the three of them sat there while House walked around them, circling like a shark, occasionally pointing his cane around or writing something down on the board. 

Chase said nothing to Cameron, who was sitting next to him, when she started her popping and cracking. He simply stuck his hand in front of her mouth and looked her in the eyes.

She just sort of rolled her eyes at him, as if to say '_yeh right'. _

But Chase kept his hand there and moved his fingers so that it was obvious that he was serious.

So she shrugged and spat her gum in his hand. Just like that.

Foreman just shot them both a weird look as Chase got up slightly and put the gum in the garbage behind him. House was rambling on about something or other, which they probably should be listening to. Cameron gave Chase a sour smirk and tuned back into House, patting the half full pack of gum in her lab coat with a sly smile.

House finally finished lecturing them and sent them out to do more tests.

"I'll catch up in a few," Foreman said as Cameron and Chase boarded the elevator. They nodded to him as the doors closed.

"So what's with the gum?" Chase wondered.

"Something I was trying out," she answered without being too specific.

"In place of meth?" Chase came right out with it, which only slightly shocked Cameron, though she didn't show it.

"In place of cigarettes in place of meth." She saw no reason not to tell him.

"You seem to have an addictive personality, huh?"

"Like a couple other people we know around here?" she referenced to House.

Chase gave a small laugh. "Well, you should try something else, unless you are trying to drive me insane."

"Oh. And what would you suggest?" she asked as if gum was her last resort.

He shrugged silently, and then had an idea.

Chase, suddenly feeling bold, reached over and kissed her, placing his hand gently on her back.

"That work for you?" he asked.

She was a bit too stunned to answer before the elevator opened and Chase stepped out, smiling.

_That could definitely work,_ she thought to herself with a smile as she, too got out of the elevator.

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**so, what did you think? **


End file.
